1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the presentation of ticker data on an Internet client, and the use of ticker data as hyperlinks to related web sites.
2. Description of Related Art
Using PCs or other client devices to access Internet data and web sites is common and well-known in the art. Some of the most popular web sites provided organized information relating to finance, sports, and various types of news.
Stock tickers have been in use for many years in financial businesses, and have also become available on some web sites. These web-based stock tickers display a scrolling series of stock symbols and corresponding quotes within the browser display of the client device. Typical stock tickers, both web-based and otherwise, have fixed content (e.g., show all stocks for a given exchange) and characteristics (e.g., speed, size, color, location, orientation, etc.). Both the content and characteristics are typically predetermined by the provider of the ticker (e.g., the respective web server), which can be the OSP server 130 or a web server 150 selected by the OSP. A person viewing such a stock ticker must view a series of undesired stock quotes prior to viewing desired stock quotes.
The utility of a stock ticker has suggested other types of “tickers.” For example, a well-know ticker in New York's Times Square displays current news. Many public spaces also have similar devices. However, these tickers generally have not lent themselves well to uses other than for displaying stocks. Generally, the small space, limited appearance characteristics and lack of control by the audience limit their utility and make them undesirable. Thus, these non-stock tickers are uncommon.
In certain situations wherein a significant amount of information is displayed in a predetermined sequence, if the person viewing the information accesses the ticker at an inopportune time, or happens to get distracted at a certain moment, the person may be required to wait a relatively long time until the desired information again passes by on the ticker. This might occur, for example, if a person is waiting to see a stock quote for a stock having a ticker symbol beginning with “B,” but the stock ticker displays the quotes in alphabetical order and is currently on the Cs.
Another limitation of most tickers is that the information provided is of a very limited nature. Stock tickers are useful primarily to those people who are skilled at reading the “code” of stock symbols and prices. This need to compress large amounts of information in a small and time-limited space result in non-stock tickers often displaying unintelligible information. Because the person viewing the ticker usually has no control over the display, the person may catch a glimpse of information of interest, but cannot obtain information which has passed, or supplemental or related information.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a ticker which allows a viewer to customize the content and characteristics thereof, as well as easily access information related to the ticker information.